Laser Cutting Service

We have manufactured a lot of different parts for a wide range of projects. The only common denominator for all of them is “metal” because we only perform metal cutting at Fractory.

The projects include custom metal cut parts for many industries but also hobbyists with one-off parts.

Some of our client segments include:

Machine builders – machine components, panels, etc.

Car manufacturers – panels, roll cages, chassis etc.

Maritime industry – frames and other parts (mostly aluminium and stainless steel)

Robot building – frame, bodyworks, moving parts, etc.

Forestry & agricultural machinery – panels, frames, etc.

Art studios – signs and signage

Fashion designers – metal jewellery

We would advise looking at our design requirements first in order to avoid parts that cannot be produced. The main design principles revolve around cut widths suitable for production.

Fractory’s laser profiling service only focuses on one group of materials – different types of metal. Therefore, we include a list of most common metals with their maximum recommended thickness for getting the best quality results:

Mild steel – up to 25 mm

Stainless steel – up to 30 mm

Special steels (Hardox, Strenx, etc.) – up to 20 mm

Coated steel – up to 5 mm

Aluminium – up to 30 mm

Copper alloys – up to 12 mm

Lasers are suitable for cutting a variety of non-metal materials. These include MDF, acrylic, wood, card, paper, etc. Unfortunately, we do not offer such cutting services at the moment.

Laser cutting online makes quick pricing possible. You can get an instant quote for your STP, SLDPRT, IPT part files or DXF drawings. There’s no more need for detailed drawings. Thus, you can save a lot of time by skipping the drawings part of an engineer’s job.

Online laser cutting’s pricing algorithms make it possible to design things keeping cost in mind. Also, it helps you to see how the prices change for scaling up the production. Ordering from Fractory ends up with our algorithms choosing the best-suited manufacturing partner. The choice depends on a manufacturer’s availability, location, expertise, etc.

As our system knows all this info, we can reduce lead times, provide competitive prices and find a manufacturer with the right expertise for any project.

Prototypes created from sheet metal are functional prototypes, not mock-up models that don’t possess the same material characteristics as the final product. Thus, in many industries, sheet metal and CNC prototypes are preferred to 3D-printed ones.

Each process has its place in the manufacturing world though and the evaluation of which fabrication process to use should be done on a case-by-case basis. Our experienced sales engineers can surely help you to make the most cost-effective decision.

Laser cutting is a thermal cutting process where the cut is made using an amplified light beam – laser. A high-power laser is able to achieve high-quality results for metal cutting. Lasers can be used for any metalwork, including industrial applications.

Laser profiling is more precise and less energy-consuming than plasma cutting but is more limited when it comes to cutting thick materials.

Fractory’s laser cutting service offers CO2 and fibre lasers. While both use concentrated laser beams, the beam generation process uses different mechanisms. Both technologies have certain advantages, making them useful in certain situations.

As already discussed, laser technology has an edge over other cutting methods when it comes to certain qualities. All those can work for your cause if you are aware of them.

The main advantages of laser cutting:

• Great flexibility – One sheet may have 100 different cuts without having to change tools. Also, it is possible to cut all kinds of intricate shapes.
• Precision – Accuracy of+/- 0.1 mm for laser cut parts gives the possibility to really cater to your most demanding needs. This kind of precision also ensures high quality.
• Repeatability – +/- 0.05 mm ensures close to identical details.
• Speed – Laser cutters are known for their speed, especially when cutting thin metal sheets.
• Saves money – The machines are getting more energy efficient. Shuttle tables reduce the need for handling which means less need for manual labour. Smaller manufacturing costs result in lower total costs for the buyer.
• Saving time – Laser cutting is automated. Therefore, it is the machinery that reads the drawings. The drawings only need to include cutting lines. This saves a lot of time in the drawing-room.
• Small areas of HAZ – The heat affected zone is an unwanted byproduct of thermal cutting methods. As laser cutting has a small cutting kerf, the heat is not dispersed as heavily as with other cutting methods, leaving a smaller HAZ.